An Unnamed Tale of Harry Potter
by Harcy Pockson
Summary: After the emotional turmoil of his third year Harry decides to take a hard look at himself, but soon realizes that if he wants to make changes to his life he needs to make sure he trusts the people he befriends. Ron!Bashing, Dumbledore!Bashing, Independent!Harry. Pairings as yet undetermined. Other bashing may be added
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'd like to start this story with an author's note. After this, I will try to keep any future notes brief. This is my first story on this site (or any other), so any opinion, good or bad, is appreciated. So, down to business, I plan for this story to have a Powerful!Harry, but not Super! or Godlike!. I'm having Dumbledore and Voldemort be equal in power, with Harry perhaps just a tiny bit stronger. He will come out of his shell and show intelligence, but again, not in an unrealistic manner. There will be Ron!Bashing and Dumbledore!Bashing, but some other characters, such as Snape and other Weasleys are yet to be determined. Also, pairings are undetermined, but I'm leaning towards either a Slytherin or a foreign student. Please review, I need all the advice I can get!**

 **Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe is owned by J.K. Rowling, and I am not her, so I own nothing.**

Chapter 1

Harry Potter had just experienced one hell of a year. Emotional roller coaster didn't even begin to cover it. Quite frankly, the easiest part had been when he thought someone was out to kill him. He was beginning to get rather used to that, and had a sneaking suspicion it would continue to be a regular occurrence in his life. But emotions, well, he'd never been good at handling those. He supposed no 13 year old boy was particularly good at handling them, but he felt particularly... stunted. Yes, stunted sounded about right. Harry suddenly shook his head. He needed to focus on thinking through, and processing, everything that had happened at the end of the year. True, he may have had time to think through it all while he was still at Hogwarts, but he wanted to do it in private. If he had no thoughts on anything, then Hermione couldn't pry them out of him. Sure, she meant well, but Harry's years at the Dursley's had taught him to be a private person. And so here he lay, in the smallest bedroom of Number 4 Privet Drive, in the town of Surrey. The savior of the wizarding world, on a bed that appeared to have somehow been set on fire at least twice, and stained in ways that he didn't even want to contemplate. Harry snorted in derision, wondering what they would think if they all knew their "savior" was living in squalor. A small hoot suddenly caught his attention, and Harry turned to look at his owl, Hedwig. One amber eye stared at him reproachfully. Harry sighed

"Yes I know. It's just difficult, you know?"

He chuckled as Hedwig simply turned back to her nap. Her job was done, and now Harry needed to stop avoiding this, even in his own head. It was just that this particular incident seemed exceptionally cruel. To have a chance at a family, however strange of one, to be dangled so tantalizingly close, only to be wrenched away, probably forever, was the most pain he had ever felt, even compared to some of the beatings he had endured over the years. The one thing he had truly longed for in life was a family and that hope had been rekindled shortly after he had given up on it, only to be immediately extinguished, and he wasn't sure he was really coping. As a matter of fact, considering that on the first day of summer he had become so upset that his magic ran wild and almost set the bed on fire a third time, he was quite sure he wasn't coping at all. Frankly the only thing he could be thankful for was that the Dursley family had decided to completely ignore him this summer. Apparently the fact that he hadn't been expelled, or punished in any way for blowing up Aunt Marge, had convinced them that he could use magic on them and get away with it.

There were a lot of things bothering him about the year. First, was Professor Lupin. If he was such good friends with his parents, why didn't he ever contact him? And when they met why didn't he mention it? Sure his lycanthropy was a reason not to be his guardian, but he could have at least visited. The other thing bothering him was the lack of trial for Sirius. Sure, everyone seemed to agree that the Ministry is relatively incompetent, but supposedly Dumbledore had incredible political influence, yet used it to save people like Snape who were proven to be Death Eaters, and not Sirius, a man he now knew for certain to be innocent. It all seemed very suspicious to him, and he decided it was time to write a few letters.

First to Sirius,

 _Padfoot,_

 _I hope this letter finds you safe. It's only a few days into the summer and I already find myself lonely. My hopes were so high that we could be a family, and now that may never happen. But I don't want to make you anymore miserable than you need to be. Mostly it seems okay here. My relatives are utterly terrified of me, so I now have some privacy. I've decided to take a hard look at the things around me, and I have a few questions. They're rather sensitive and I'd rather not put them in a letter, since some of them are even about the people who know Snuffles doesn't belong in the pound. I was hoping there was a way we could talk face to face. SAFELY! I absolutely do NOT want Snuffles to go back because of this, it isn't important enough._

 _Stay safe,_

 _Prongslet_

 _P.S. I'd like to earn my own name as soon as possible if you can help with that!_

Harry sat contemplating the letter. Finally he nodded, it seemed good enough. Straightforward, to the point, and not enough information to tip anyone off about anything. Any mushy stuff could wait until he found out if there was a better way to communicate. Next he decided that the best way to get an answer out of Lupin was to confront him head on.

 _Professor Lupin,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well, and that your "furry little problem" isn't causing anymore issues. I'm just going to get to the point. All my life, all I've ever wanted to have is a family that cared about me, or at least someone to reign in my relatives. You are the only person alive that I know of who was in a prime position to do such a thing, even if your "issue" prevented a full guardianship. I'd like to know why it is that someone who supposedly was essentially my adoptive uncle, would never even bother to write a letter, or at least tell me of that connection when we met for the first time. If you decide not to give me a real answer, then please don't bother to even respond._

 _Harry Potter_

Harry looked over at Hedwig, "Alright girl you ready? I need you to deliver this one to Sirius, and the other to Remus Lupin. Can you do that?"

Hedwig just glared at him indignantly.

Harry laughed, "Yeah okay, I'm sorry for even asking. I'll never doubt you again. I have some more letters to send, so let them figure out how to reply on their own okay?"

Hedwig gave an enthusiastic hoot before taking off with the letters. With a soft groan Harry sat back down at the desk. He had at least one more important thing to take care of. After the debacle of not speaking to Hermione over the Firebolt he'd had a sudden realization. You see after they got all the apologies out of the way, the first thing Hermione had done was ask what schoolwork he needed help getting caught back up with. As soon as she'd said it Harry had felt a sudden rush of embarrassment at the state of his school, and just how much he seemed to rely on Hermione to do it. He'd started to think about it and realized that there was no real reason for his lack of effort in school. Sure, in first year he was sticking to the rule of the Dursley household that he wasn't allowed to do well, but Petunia and Vernon had made it clear they couldn't care less about his marks at the "freak" school. Since then he should have gotten back up to the standard that he knew he could achieve, but instead he continued to slack. He had a sneaking suspicion that he had subconsciously been trying to remain invisible as he had his entire life. He also knew that it was partly because he was terrified of losing his first friends. He didn't know how Hermione would react to him being able to potentially match her, and he flinched just thinking about how Ron would react when he found out about what he was about to do. He had determined that it was time for him to stop hiding who he was, and so with that in mind he began a letter to Professor McGonagall.

 _Professor McGonagall,_

 _I am writing to ask if it would be possible to revise my current course choices. You may be aware that during my first three years of schooling at Hogwarts I have not put forth my best effort, and I have resolved to change that. So, with that in mind I would like, if possible, to drop my Divination and Care of Magical Creatures classes, and instead take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. I understand that I would be a year behind, and I am willing to do any revision necessary, or take the classes with the third years._

 _All the best,_

 _Harry Potter_

Finally, satisfied with the days work, and knowing he could do no more until Hedwig returned, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, settled onto his ratty bed, and slept.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a week since Harry sent his letters and only Sirius had replied. He had said he had an idea, but needed time to figure it out, so for now they were just sending letters back forth about inconsequential things. He had briefly been writing Hermione, but after her third letter telling him to confide his deepest emotions in her about the Sirius situation he had decided not to reply for a couple days. He and Ron had also sent each other a few letter, with the only thing of any interest being the invitation to attend World Cup with the Weasley family. Harry was still quite excited by the prospect. After all, just because he wants to commit more to other things doesn't mean he has to give up his love of quidditch! So, with all this time on his hands Harry was reviewing all his school books, starting at first year and working his way forward through third year. He felt bad about dropping Care of Magical Creatures, knowing it would upset Hagrid, but he figured he could occasionally head down and help Hagrid on weekends to make up for it. Quite frankly he was thrilled to be done with Divination. It all seemed like a load of crap, and the one real prophecy he witnessed was completely out of the control of the professor. He was however considering some private study of the subject. After all, the professor may be insane, but that didn't change the fact that the image of Buckbeak flying away that he saw in the crystal ball had come true. With Pettigrew wandering around Harry could use the ability to see the future. Suddenly he jerked as an envelope dropped onto the desk in front of him. Startled Harry glanced up just in time to see an owl soaring back outside through the window. He looked at the envelope curiously until he saw the Hogwarts seal, and with a small thrill of trepidation he opended it and removed the letter inside.

 _Mr. Potter,_

 _I am pleased to hear that you are taking your education seriously. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities to excel in all your classes. Your request for the change to your courses has been granted, with special accommodations. You will have private tutoring sessions each week with Professor Babbling and Professor Vector for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy respectively. This will allow you to work at an accelerated rate until you are able to join the regular classes of your year mates. You should be aware that this is something that is generally only done for students who show exceptional skill and decide to get an education in more subjects than a normal schedule allows. The professors are donating their precious free time to educate you, and I expect nothing but the best from you. I vouched for you in order to convince them to do this, and should I find out that you are slacking off in any manner you will be serving the worst detentions you can imagine for the rest of your school career._

 _Regards,_

 _Professor McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

Harry smiled as he read the letter. It was just so... McGonagall. It felt somehow encouraging and intimidating at the same time, and was exactly what he would expect form his head of house. It was clear that it was going to be hard work, but he felt ready to take it on. With the right motivation he knew he could handle the work. Sure, he probably would never match Hermione from a purely theory standpoint, but he was confident that he could compete for top of the class in all the practicals, even potions if he just ignored everyone and focused on his brewing.

I t was another week before Lupin responded, and June was almost over. A very tired looking owl had struggled through the window, before dropping the envelope and practically collapsing onto Hedwig's perch, who was thankfully out hunting. She did not take well to strange owls using her things. Harry picked up the letter and was surprised to see it was from Lupin. After two weeks of nothing he simply thought Lupin had chosen not to respond. With no small amount of curiosity Harry opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and began to read.

 _Harry,_

 _I'm sorry it took so long to respond, but I've been on the move, and didn't have access to an owl until now. I was very happy to receive a letter from you, at least until I read the contents of said letter. Your queries have set off some alarm bells in my head, and it appears that at least one of us is severely misinformed. I'd like to discuss this in person, and if you're willing to meet me I will be back in Britain next week. If we could meet for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron we could sort this out. Say Wednesday at 2? Let me know if you can make it._

 _Moony_

Harry though his eyebrows might just climb completely off of his head at this point. He had expected excuses, or maybe some indignation and anger. A secretive lunch meeting was certainly pretty low on the list, if it was there at all. This should be very interesting.

On Wednesday Harry was ready to go. He was planning to take the Knight Bus to get to Diagon Alley and back. Depending on how long things with Lupin took, he also had some errands he wanted to run. He had worn a simple tee shirt and jeans, and then also donned a light jacket to help conceal the wand sticking out of his pocket. Although they were still not exactly high quality, he had made several small excursions into the muggle world to get some clothing that wasn't eight sizes too big. He went downstairs, and as he got to the door he heard Vernon.

"Boy! Where are you off to now? Going to cause trouble no doubt."

Harry raised an eyebrow. If anyone was out causing trouble it was Dudley, but that wasn't his concern. He turned around to face his uncle, purposefully allowing the jacket to flap enough for his wand to briefly show, and he saw his uncle pale slightly.

"I'm going to grab lunch with a friend. I should be back before dark, is that a problem?"

Vernon gulped slightly but quickly recovered and sneered at him,

"Who would be friends with you boy?"

Harry grinned, "Oh you know, us freaks have to stick together. And I'm sure you wouldn't want me to invite them here."

Vernon was clearly struggling between anger and fear, before finally relenting.

"Fine, but I better not hear about any funny business from the neighbors, you understand?"

Harry snorted as he turned away, "Yeah I got it."

A moment later he was confidently strolling down the street to a spot where he could safely summon the bus. He'd noticed that having decent clothing had immediately made him less nervous about being in public, and was perfectly fine nodding greeting to people on the street. Soon he reached an empty alleyway and glanced around before holding out his wand arm. A moment later the Knight Bus was before, accompanied by it's customary loud bang. He climbed past Stan with a polite hello, not wanting to get caught in conversation, and sat to wait out the insane ride.

Ten minutes later he entered the Leaky Cauldron, albeit in a slightly dazed manner and approached the bar.

"Hey Tom, I'm supposed to meet Remus Lupin here, has he arrived?"

"Nope, not yet Harry, but he did Floo earlier and request a booth with silencing charms. I can seat you there and get you a drink while you wait."

Harry smiled, "Thanks Tom, that would be wonderful. A butterbeer should help pass the time."

Tom gave him a trademark toothless grin as he led Harry to the booth and set down a butterbeer.

"Enjoy, I'll send over Mr. Lupin when he arrives."

Five minutes later, with Harry already half way through his drink he spotted Lupin. He watched as he approached the bar and spoke to Tom for a moment, before turning and walking over to the booth.

"Hello Harry. Are you well?"

"Well enough. And you?"

Lupin gave a tired smile, "Hopefully better after this meeting"

Lupin sat down across from Harry with a sigh. There was a moment of silence until Lupin looked up. He stared at Harry for a moment before turning and calling for Tom. Lupin looked back at Harry.

"Let's get our food, and then we can talk without interruption."

Harry agreed, and a few minutes later they were both biting into their respective sandwiches. Finally Lupin looked up and began to speak.

"So I'm not sure what you know, or think you know, so I'll start from the beginning. You already know that I was friends with your parents in school, but I'll tell you again. At first it was four of us. Me, Sirius, Pete, and your father James. I did my best to hide from them what I was, but inevitably they figured it out. At first I was terrified that they would turn on me, but instead they did the opposite. They worked for years to do what many would think to be the impossible, and became Animagus. Peter is a rat, which makes sense now. Sirius, as you know is a dog, and James was a stag. Our group became even closer and soon we even had a name for ourselves. The Marauders. We thought it was so cool. We were the ultimate pranksters, even me. In seventh year your parents really started their relationship, and Lily fit right in. For awhile I thought we would drift apart after school, but if anything we got closer. There was a war going on, and we all had to have each other's backs. Then Lily had you, and you became our one bright spot in a dark world. We all loved you so much, and you were the reason we kept fighting even as our friends were all killed. Then Dumbledore said he had information your family was being targeted, and so you and your parents went into hiding, and we thought the Fidelius would be enough."

At this point Lupin seemed to need a moment. He had tears in his eyes, and it was clear that he still had trouble with the deaths of Lily and James. Even so Harry just sat with an impassive look on his face. It was a touching story, but it still didn't explain why Lupin never tried to see him over the years, and so he would wait to hear the rest of the story. Finally Lupin seemed to recover.

"That night your home was attacked I was devastated. I heard the news and I couldn't deal with you all being dead. I wallowed for days, until I heard the impossible. Somehow you, the baby I cared so much about, had lived. And not only lived, but vanquished Voldemort. I immediately went to Dumbledore and asked to see you. He told me I couldn't saying that you were staying with Lily's sister and that if any wizard went there it could lead Death Eaters to you. So instead I wrote a letter to Petunia. I'm relatively familiar with the muggle world and thought we could meet there. It returned to me unopened, and I assumed she sent it back. So I continued to send letters, trying to wear her down. It was after a dozen that I realized that she wasn't even receiving them. I realized Dumbledore had put a mail redirect ward around you, and so I continued to pester over the years, but he continued to say no, and there was nothing I could do. Then the year you would go to Hogwarts came and I approached Dumbledore again. You knew about the Wizarding world now, so I could meet you. But again I was deflected. He convinced me you had a hard enough time learning about magic and your fame without another unfamiliar face coming in. Sadly, during your second year I was out of the country. Then Sirius escaped, and Dumbledore asked me to teach and I was thrilled. Finally I could get to know you. Then Dumbledore stopped me again. He said he had informed you of who I am, and that you had decided you were perfectly happy with your life with your relatives and didn't want to meet me. I was crushed, but I would at least get to teach you. But now, judging from your letter, and your face right now, you said no such thing."

"No", Harry said coldly."I most certainly didn't.

 **A/N: So that plants the seed of Dumbledore suspicion. Next chapter Harry will head to the Weasley's and we'll see how Ron and Hermione feel about his new motivation! Thank you to everyone who followed, and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter will really showcase Harry beginning to stand up for himself. After this the changes will slow, because while his attitude has changed, Harry still needs to learn a lot about Wizarding culture, and we'll take a closer look at that happening before the Tournament.**

Harry barely restrained himself from punching the wall in the second room of Number 4 Privet Drive. Despite the room's sorry state already, he knew Petunia would spot anything different and flip out. He growled in frustration as he thought through things again. It didn't make any sense why Dumbledore would lie. He was supposed to be the greatest wizard alive, and he had always fit that profile when Harry spoke to him. Sure, maybe he truly thought he was protecting Harry, but somehow that just didn't fit. If that were the case he could have just told Lupin not to bother him, rather than claim to have spoken with Harry himself. It was a puzzle that Harry suspected was still missing quite a few pieces and it frustrated him to no end. Somehow it didn't surprise him that just after he started to work toward taking his life under his control something he had no control over popped in to ruin it. Remus, as he now called him, had almost to stun Harry just to stop him from going to Hogwarts and attempting to dangle Dumbledore by his beard from the Astronomy Tower. He'd managed to calm Harry enough to talk to him and tell him that while he was angry too, they didn't have enough information. And so Harry had resolved to be wary and wait. After all, Dumbledore would at least not be a problem until the school year started. So after what turned into a very pleasant lunch with Remus, Harry had gone about his business. He'd picked up books on Wizarding culture, although he suspected that he would need to spend time with some purebloods in order to pick up on all the things that even the books took for granted. He'd also picked up a plain wand holster, something he had seen some adult wizards wearing. There had been a lot of options but he had just gotten one that could be disillusioned (which he had found out basically meant invisible). He didn't think he needed anything fancy at this point, and just liked that he could wear it in the Muggle world. He'd also picked up some different robes, knowing he could go to Hogsmeade this year, and not wanting to simply wear his uniform all the time.

Harry spent the next few weeks reading up. He quickly got through the books on Wizarding culture and realized they were worthless. They were clearly meant to stop muggleborns from getting a real idea of the society they were entering. Either that or the authors simply didn't care enough to make the books worthwhile. No matter what the reason Harry needed a new way to learn, and though he might know it. He'd been exchanging frequent letters with both Sirius and Remus, and had grown to genuinely care for both men. It was nice to ease into things with small talk before dealing with the really emotional stuff. He had learned that Sirius was from a long line of purebloods, while Remus was a half-blood. Remus' mother had been a muggle, and his father a pureblood. That made him the perfect person to teach Harry about Wizarding society and be able to understand Harry's muggle perspective. The question was how to go about meeting with him for enough time. After thinking about it for a little while he decided it didn't matter if Remus couldn't help him, and so scrawled out a quick later before sending it off with Hedwig.

Just as Hedwig flew out of sight Harry heard a yell.

"Boy! Get down here now!"

Sighing Harry went to see what Vernon could possibly want now.

"Yes?"

Vernon snarled, "I don't know what you think you're playing at boy but I told you to make sure no one gets any hint of your freakishness, and now this!"

Struggling not to roll his eyes Harry replied, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"This!" Vernon thrust what appeared to be a letter at Harry, although it clearly had far too many stamps. "One of your freaky pals sent that, and now the mailman is asking questions! What do you have to say to that?"

Harry took a moment before responding. He knew that Vernon would never accept the excuse that the Weasley family simply didn't understand muggle post. After all he thought they were the freaks and should be obligated to learn "normal" ways of doing things. Suddenly he had an idea, and sending up a silent apology to the Weasley family, he looked his Uncle dead in the eye and replied.

"They're idiots."

"Don't yo- what?"

"They're idiots. Absolute morons. Most of my kind can at least function in the normal world, but this family are absolutely hopeless."

Whatever Vernon was expecting it wasn't that, but he recovered quickly. "Well why are they contacting you boy?"

Harry shrugged, "I pretend to like the youngest boy. I can't stand him, but his father was able to procure tickets to our version of the World Cup. I assume this letter is an invitation."

Vernon was clearly struggling with that response. On the one hand, it was completely unlike the boy, and he wasn't sure he liked this manipulative side to him. On the other hand it was a motivation he could understand. Vernon himself often sucked up to those he considered morons, although in his case it was usually for business. Finally he decided he could at least respect what the boy was doing, albeit grudgingly. Plus there was the mass murdering godfather to consider.

"You can go with them boy, but make sure they don't let the neighbors see them. No freaky stuff in my home, understood?"

Harry internally sighed with relief, "Yes uncle I'll be sure to give them clear instructions."

"Good, now leave us alone."

Harry simply nodded before heading up to his room again. Once up there he quickly opened the letter and chuckled, wondering what the Dursley family would have thought of Mrs. Weasley calling owl post the "normal way". Suddenly Ron's owl Pig came in clutching a letter, but rather than give it to him, began flying around the room at top speed. Harry jumped up and snatched the energetic owl out of the air, wondering if maybe it was part snidget. He quickly opened the letter before sighing in frustration. Why the letter from Ron alone wouldn't have sufficed he didn't know, but it had caused him an unnecessary headache. Well it was too late now, and after asking Pig to wait for his reply he sat down at the desk to write to Ron.

 _Ron,_

 _I'd love to come, and my relatives are fine with it. I'll see you at 5 on Sunday, I can't wait to get away!_

 _Harry_

 _P.S. I don't know how you plan to get here, but you can't use the Floo, my relatives' fireplace is blocked._

It was short, but they could get caught up in person on Sunday, so Harry thought it would do just fine. He sent it off with Pig who looped around the room a few times before heading off. With not a small amount of relief Harry settled onto the bed, ready to relax for his last few days with some privacy from the chaos that is the Weasley household.

Sunday afternoon came and Harry was downstairs waiting. The Dursley family, uncomfortable enough already with Harry's newfound confidence, had left for the day so as not to encounter more freaks than necessary. They had however warned him against anything being out place when they returned, or he would suffer when he returned for the summer again. So, Harry had all his things ready to go so that whatever members of the Weasley clan showed up wouldn't spend too much time in the muggle home. Eventually Harry got bored and started to contemplate the summer so far.

As far as he could tell everything was starting to finally go in a direction he liked. The only issue right now was how to meet with Remus. The werewolf had agreed to tutor him, but said that in order to do so they would need to practically live together. The only problem with that was the fact that Remus only had a small shack, much too small to have a long term guest. And with Harry staying at the Burrow the rest of the summer, he wasn't quite sure what to do. He figured at worst he could ask Remus if he would be willing to just visit the Burrow, or meet somewhere each day. He actually thought that just might work, and had just sent off a hastily scrawled note with Hedwig when he heard the tell tale bang of the Knight Bus outside.

Running to the window Harry peered outside to see Mr. Weasley stumbling towards the door looking a little paler than usual. Harry quickly opened the front door and waved Mr. Weasley over.

"Hi, Mr. Weasley! Give me just a second, and I'll grab my stuff."

Mr. Weasley smiled. "Hello Harry, good to see you again. Do your relatives want to meet me before we go?"

"Oh no they left hours ago. They don't particularly like wizards."

Mr. Weasley frowned slightly at that, and Harry wondered if it would be worthwhile to reveal the extent of how the Dursley family really treated him. He decided it was something that would need much more thought than he had time for right now. Shoving it to the back of his head he grabbed his trunk, along with Hedwig's cage and his Firebolt, before going back out to Mr. Weasley who was eagerly peering inside.

"I'm ready."

Mr. Weasley continued to look through the window of the now closed front door.

"Hm? Oh yes. Say Harry you don't suppose I could just go in for a quick look do you?"

"I really don't think my realtives would appreciate that Mr. Weasley."

Mr. Weasley blushed. "Oh yes well I suppose not. Right then, let's get to it."

Harry smiled indulgently for a moment before looking around curiously.

"Erm, Mr. Weasley? Shouldn't we summon the Knight Bus?"

"Oh no that won't be necessary, we'll just apparate."

Harry thought for a moment before remembering Ron mentioning it before they took the car in second year. "That's the one where just appear at your location right?"

Mr. Weasley looked surprised that Harry didn't know what apparition was before remembering he was raised muggle.

"Yes that's correct. I would have done it to get here, but one must know the place they want to arrive at quite well. Some wizards such as Dumbledore can make do with just a photograph, but the rest of us must see it with our own eyes."

Harry nodded at this explanation and waited for Mr. Weasley to instruct him.

"Right then. Just grab onto my arm and hold tight. I will warn you that it is an extremely unpleasant experience the first time."

Harry grabbed hold of Mr. Weasley's arm and abruptly regretted it quite a bit.

It was an hour later, after Harry stopped painting the yard of the Burrow with vomit, and then managed to escape to Ron's room with Ron and Hermione. Hermione had already been at the Burrow for weeks, making Harry briefly wonder what her parents thought of how little they saw their daughter. They were now filling him in on what they had been doing, with Ron especially gushing over the fact that they were going to the Quidditch World Cup. Finally they got around to asking him and Hermione did what she had clearly been waiting to do since he arrived.

"So, how are you coping with the Sirius situation?"

Harry simply raised an eyebrow at her as he responded, as Ron tried to look as small as possible.

"Fine Hermione, thanks."

Hermione huffed in frustration. "Harry you can't keep repressing this! You need to confide in us, after all we're your friends. You shouldn't keep secrets it's not healthy."

Harry felt his ire starting to rise, but remained calm. "Hermione I said I'm fine, and I meant it. I've dealt with it and now I'm moving forward with things in my life."

Apparently Hermione wasn't listening, or simply didn't care. "Ron says you haven't said anything to him, and you haven't spoken to me, so clearly you're just holding this all in."

Finally, Harry snapped. "HERMIONE! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I worked through it with Sirius himself? We've been writing to each other all summer. And, just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm obligated to share my every thought with you, so kindly butt out!"

Harry was panting after his rant, and Ron looked like his eyeballs might fall out of his head, but Hermione apparently wasn't ready to back down.

With a sneer, an expression Harry had never seen her use before, Hermione said, "And I suppose with all this letter writing you haven't even started on your summer work, and now expect me to help you?"

Harry calmly replied, "Actually I finished it all, and actually switched my classes from Creatures and Divination to Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. I've been reading to get caught up in them, and reading back through our old books to see what I missed."

Apparently that response shocked Hermione so much that she was speechless, which gave Ron the perfect chance to jump in.

"You switched your classes?! So you're just abandoning me? Some friend you are!"

Harry sighed, "Ron I just want to learn as much magic as I can. If you want to switch your classes too, I'm sure McGonagall would be happy to help."

Apparently Ron either couldn't think of a response, or was too angry to articulate, because he just continued to glare. Harry stood up and said, "If you two feel like apologizing at any point, I'll be around."

As he walked downstairs Harry went over things. While he had expected Ron to be upset, Hermione's low blow about school, and how she seemed to mock him writing to Sirius really surprised him. He wasn't quite sure how things would work out from here, but he figured he would just let them make the first move. Suddenly he paused at the landing he was on. He saw he was at the twins room. He realized that they had always stood by him, and he didn't even know them that well, outside of Quidditch practice. So, with a new goal in mind he knocked firmly on the door, when it suddenly opened and he was forcefully pulled into one of the strangest rooms he had ever seen.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry immediately went for his wand only to freeze in shock. He didn't know how the twins had done it, but this room was incredible. The size alone would have impressed him, but it was what the room contained that really was awe inspiring. On the back wall, which was much further away than expected, was a row of four simmering cauldrons, all containing different potions. Harry didn't recognize any of them, and although they may have just been beyond his knowledge, he suspected they were original potions invented by the twins. The left wall had shelves filled with an assortment of what appeared to be half finished inventions, although based on how disorganized they were it could also be abandoned projects. On the right were bunk beds crammed into the corner, with the rest of the wall being taken up by cupboards, and although he couldn't see inside of them, Harry could see that they were all clearly labeled. Finally, dominating the center of the room was a huge table that seemed to serve as both a desk and workbench, covered in a series of strange components, stacks of parchment, and even some potion ingredients. Even as he gaped in shock he realized that the twins were speaking to him.

"Sorry about pulling you in like that-"

"But mum doesn't know about all of this-"

"And we suspect she wouldn't approve."

"But anyway-"

"What can we-"

"The Weasley pranksters-"

"Extraordinaire do for you-"

"Oh great Boy-Who-Lived-"

"Slayer of Slytherin's monster-"

"And our Ickle Harrikins?"

Harry took a moment to catch up before responding.

"I uh, got into a bit of an uh, disagreement with Ron and Hermione..." Harry trailed off distractedly before shaking himself.

"That's not important though. What on earth IS all of this? And how is your room so big? I mean I've heard of expansion charms, but those are supposed to be temporary."

The twins looked at each other for a long moment, seemingly having some sort of silent discussion. Finally, as Harry stood with an eyebrow raised expectantly, they nodded and turned. The one that Harry was fairly certain was George turned to go over to the cauldrons, as probably Fred turned toward Harry and began speaking.

"Well the room is done with some very useful runes. We actually realized it was possible in our third year, and had Bill help us the next time he visited. He figures as long as it doesn't hurt anyone it's better to help us do it right, rather than leave us to possibly hurt ourselves. As for the rest, well that's our big one. We've been working on it almost since we started Hogwarts, and it's our biggest secret. So, as much as I like you, I'm gonna need a promise not to tell anyone we don't approve of before I tell you."

Harry frowned slightly, "An oath? That seems a bit excessive. I think I'd rather just not know if it's all the same."

Who was probably Fred quickly corrected him, "No no no, not an oath. I didn't think you would even know about those. No, we just want a regular promise. You seem like a man of his word, and we figure if anyone here is good at keeping secrets, it's you."

Harry's face cleared, "Ah well in that case I promise not to tell anyone you don't clear first. Especially your mum."

The twin that Harry was still fairly certain was Fred chuckled at the last bit, albeit a little nervously.

"Much appreciated Harrikins, and now for the big reveal. This," he said with a dramatic flourish,"is the headquarters of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"

"Erm," Harry said, "That's some great use of alliteration and all, but what exactly does it mean?"

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is the culmination of everything we have worked towards our entire lives. You see, while we've been working on our own products for our pranks for years, we never thought much of it. Then this past year, we suddenly realized that Zonko's, the only joke shop in the wizarding world, still has the exact same products as when we went the first time. So we spent the rest of the year coming up with a plan to pursue what we love and start our own joke business. What you see in here is the result!"

Harry stared at him for a moment before a grin slowly spread across his face. "Well I'm glad you found a way to focus your talents, it sounds like quite the undertaking. Want to give me a tour?"

And with that Harry had opened the floodgates. For the next two hours the twins traded out telling him about the many things scattered around their room/laboratory. If he wasn't impressed by the number of products alone, the thought they had put into this really blew him away. When they first started showing him the many products, from gadgets to candies, he was impressed by the ingenuity and creativity used. When they told him about their philosophy on the brewing however, that was when he realized they might really be able to make a business of it.

"These cauldrons only have a couple of potions in them" the twin suspected to be George said. "You actually would probably recognize some of them. All the more complicated stuff we do at Hogwarts."

"What's different about brewing at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"It's in case something goes wrong. We're creating new potions, and even though we do all the theoretical research and calculations first, explosions aren't uncommon. We haven't had any major incidents yet, but if we do Hogwarts has wards designed to contain things like that so we won't accidentally hurt anyone like we might here."

"That's actually very well thought out. I'm glad to see you guys are taking this seriously and not just recklessly doing what you want.

George actually laughed. "That's a big part of the reason we haven't told Mum. No matter what we say she just could never reconcile the idea of us being responsible. We're hoping that once we complete our O. she'll give us a bit more free reign. Despite what people might think we're actually really looking forward to our O.W.L. year. This year is when we really start getting access to the kind of information we need to further a lot of our half-finished projects."

"Well I wish you luck. Anyway, I've been here for a lot longer than I expected and Ron will want time to scowl at me for awhile before dinner. See you downstairs!"

"No problem Harry. Stop by anytime, maybe you'll start to reveal some of your own hidden talents." George (maybe) responded with a grin. "Oh and before we forget avoid the biscuits. We recently finished a new product, and while regular human testing is great, it's sibling testing that gets the real results."

Harry shook his head with exasperation, although a smile was on his face he stepped out onto the landing to head downstairs to the kitchen.

Sure enough Ron and Hermione were in the sitting room, and Ron glared at him as he passed through, while Hermione simply ignored him as she read a book. Harry smirked at their predictability. Entering the kitchen he found Mrs. Weasley bustling around getting dinner ready.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley. Anything I can do to help?"

"Oh hello Harry dear." She responded. "You don't worry about a thing, just go spend time with Ron and Hermione."

"Please I insist. It's the least I can do to thank you for letting me stay in your home, and taking me to the World Cup." Harry said sincerely.

"Oh, you're such a sweet boy. Well if you insist I suppose some help setting the table wouldn't go amiss. The usual plates and silverware, and then some condiments and this plate of biscuits if you don't mind."

"Of course, it's no trouble." Harry said.

And so Harry began to set the table. He had really meant everything he said to Mrs. Weasley. After all, just because he'd started to suspect that Ron was quite the friend he first thought, that didn't make the rest of the family any less kind, and he truly appreciated it. A few minutes later, after having to ask Mrs. Weasley where only a couple of things were, all that was left was the biscuits. As he carried them over however he suddenly had an idea. Making sure that Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking he quickly pulled out his wand. When he was reading his Runes books earlier in the summer there had been a brief section wards, and so he knew that the wards over the Burrow, combined with the presence of adult wizards, would mean the ministry couldn't detect underage magic. So, with that in mind he quickly cast some revealing charms he had learned on the biscuits. To his satisfaction he saw the twins had only jinxed them. If it would have been a potion he couldn't have reversed it, and his plan would have been ruined. And so a quiet _Finite Incantatem_ later and the biscuits were safe. Harry then put his own spell on the biscuits, one that needed a specific counter, and wouldn't be dispelled with a simple _Finite_ , or even _Finite Incantatem._ He had noticed over the last couple years that the twins purposefully ate food they had contaminated to throw off suspicion, and simply cast the counter before it took affect. So with that in mind he added a weak compulsion charm, which was also admittedly the only one he knew, to the biscuits to ensure the twins took the correct ones. He then sat at the table, just as Mrs. Weasley called fro the rest of the family that dinner was ready.

The meal started with some tension as Ron and Hermione sat as far from Harry as they could, whilst also pointedly not looking his direction. Fortunately this was resolved when the Twins plopped down on either side of him as if nothing was wrong, and quickly struck up conversation. And so the dinner gradually got back to the usual Weasley chaos. Harry was talking animatedly to Ginny and the Twins about the World Cup the next day, as well as getting to know Charlie and Bill through some small talk about their jobs. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that Harry saw the twins each grab a biscuit and subtly cast _Finite_ before eating them. It was another 5 minutes before Harry found out the the Twins weren't the only devious ones in the family, as he heard a small snort from across the table. He looked up to find Ginny holding back laughter, before she quickly looked away and composed herself before the Twins noticed her, as she clearly had no intention of telling them they'd been pranked. Moments later he saw her nudge Percy who looked up, started to say something, then grinned and continued eating, clearly thinking of all the pranks played on him. It was another 5 minutes before Harry really thought it was over. Mrs. Weasley had looked down the table for one of the dishes being passed around before gasping.

"Boys! What have you done?"

The Twins looked up grinning, thinking their prank was taking effect, but when they saw no one looking any different just became confused.

"What do you mean Mum? We haven't done anything."

Mrs. Weasley started to speak again before Mr. Weasley interrupted. "Now Molly dear, they're teenagers. Let them explore. It's not like a quick charm won't fix it."

Mrs. Weasley grumbled but went back to eating, and Harry was overjoyed. Somehow no one had said anything too revealing, and if he was lucky this could last all night. Unfortunately it was that moment when Ron decided to ruin the fun by simply blurting out whatever he wanted, somehow also spraying the table with half-chewed food at the same time.

"Oy! When did you two get tattoos?"

Fred and George turned to look at each other in confusion, before immediately screaming like little girls, for tattooed very prominently on each of their foreheads was an outline of a heart. Inside one heart was the word "Gred" and the other had "Forge". It was only a moment before they ran from the kitchen, and everyone heard them thunder up the stairs to their room, bemoaning the desecration of their beautiful faces the whole way. A moment later the entire table burst out laughing, except for Ron who looked confused, and Hermione who looked disapproving. Even Mrs. Weasley had realized it was a prank and saw the hilarity. And so dinner finished in high spirits, with Mrs. Weasley simply asking that whoever had performed the prank reverse before the family's arrival at the World Cup. And so with that in mind Harry decided to let the Twins suffer overnight and went to bed happy, other than the glare he could still feel from the other bed.

The next morning when Mrs. Weasley woke them up, Harry seriously considered just not going to the Cup. He was used to getting up early to make sure breakfast was ready before Vernon came downstairs, but this was ridiculous. Despite this Harry was careful not to complain in front of any of the Weasleys, and made sure to thank Mrs. Weasley for breakfast, as well as the food she packed for them to take with them. He had a suspicion that Mrs. Weasley would have actually quite enjoyed going with them, but had given up her ticket so that Harry could go, and he wanted to be sure they didn't think for a moment that he was ungrateful. It was only a few minutes before they had to leave when the Twins cornered him and Harry remembered the prank. He let them dangle for a moment, before grinning and reversing the spells. They quickly left after that, with the Twins shooting Harry looks of respect, mixed with a promise of revenge.

It was a short time later that they reached the top of a hill, and Mr. Weasley stopped them.

"Alright this is the spot. We just wait here to see who else shows up until the departure time. Oh look, that seems to be Amos Diggory and his boy heading this way now."

Sure a few minutes later the two Diggorys were standing on the hill with them.

"Hello Arthur, how are you?"

"Oh, not so bad Amos. The kids certainly seem excited. That's your son Cedric isn't it?"

Amos grinned. "That he is! Very proud of him, he's quite the boy, fantastic grades, and quite the quidditch player too!"

Arthur smiled at Mr. Diggory's enthusiasm. "Yes I'm quite proud of my boys as well. You've met them all I believe. Oh, and then we have Ron's friends accompanying us today. Amos this is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Harry and Hermione this is Amos Diggory and his son Cedric. They live not too far from us."

Harry nodded politely and shook Mr. Diggory's hand. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Diggory."

"And you as well young man. Do you know Cedric?"

"Yes, we've played Quidditch together a few times." Harry turned to greet Cedric, but before he could say anything Mr. Diggory was speaking again.

"Ah yes I remember! He really showed you some real flying, eh boy? I told him, not many people can say they beat Harry Potter. Told him you wouldn't be underestimating Hufflepuff again any time soon."

Harry, although annoyed, tried to diffuse the situation. "Yes, it was a good, and Cedric is an excellent player."

"Good showing?! Ha, my boy showed the whole world that fame isn't everything!"

Cedric meanwhile was looking extraordinarily embarrassed. The Weasley group mostly looked awkward, except Ron who looked torn between gleeful at what he thought was Harry's comeuppance for being famous and rich, and offense on behalf of his friend. Harry meanwhile was showing no emotion looking stone cold, yet on the inside seething with anger.

"Well, nothing to say to that hm? Figures. I always thought the rumors about you were exaggerated anyway."

Harry looked at Mr. Diggory for a moment before speaking. "Yes, well I'm sure they are. Personally I never place any store in rumors. And while Cedric is certainly accomplished, I look forward to a rematch with no Dementors around."

"Oh please boy, that's no excuse. You're a child, what's the worst thing Dementors could be making you remember? Not getting the right toy for Christmas?"

Harry smiled grimly. "Yes you're right Mr. Diggory it's nothing much. It's actually just the one memory, but I do find it rather distracting. After all, when Voldemort murdered my parents it was rather brutal to witness."

It was after five minutes of absolute silence that Mr. Weasley quietly asked everyone to place a finger on the portkey they would be using, an old boot. A moment later and Harry felt a horrible tug behind his navel, and saw a few moments of swirling madness, before being deposited roughly onto the ground with the other children of the group. He slowly got back into a standing position with a groan and looked around. They had arrived at a large muggle campground that the wizards had apparently appropriated for the event. A few feet away was a man taking used portkeys and directing people towards the man who would assign camp sites. He looked rather frazzled, and judging from the pile of used portkeys behind him, Harry could understand why. That, plus the noise in the distance, indicated a massive gathering of people. While it was certainly an exciting experience for him, controlling that many wizards and keeping it from muggles must be rather stressful, not to mention complicated. A moment later Mr. Weasley had started leading them towards another area where a man in a ticket stall was waiting.

"Ah hello, and how can I help you today?" The man said with a smile.

"Yes, we need to know the location of our camp site please." Mr. Weasley replied.

"Well then you've come to the right place. I'm Mr. Roberts and I own the grounds. Now what's the name?"

"Weasley."

"Weasley... Yes! Here you are. You're just gonna head up towards the woods there about a ten minute walk. You'll see a sign with your name, and that's the spot."

"Thank you very much Mr. Roberts. Now what do I owe you?"

It was a moment later that Mr. Weasley motioned Harry and Hermione over to help him with the muggle money. Then, after some comments from Mr. Roberts about foreigners and weirdos they were on their way. Around ten minutes later they came upon a small wooden sign staked into the ground labeled _Weasley._

"Alright!" Mr. Weasley said enthusiastically. "We have to do everything the muggle way to avoid suspicion, so who wants to help set up the tent?"

Hermione ended being the one to help with the tents, since Harry had no experience with them, and they were the only ones familiar with the muggle world. After some incidents where Mr. Weasley got a little over enthusiastic with a mallet, the tents were set up. Afterwards they went inside, and despite knowing about expansion charms, Harry was amazed at how much fit inside the small tents. As they unpacked and settled in, everyone chattered excitedly as their energy grew. As everyone joked and jostled, and playfully argued, Harry remembered just why he loved the Weasley family so much. Ron may have some flaws, but the Weasley's were good people, and Harry would always appreciate them taking him in.


	5. AUTHOR NOTE: KILLING AN UNNAMED TALE

AUTHOR NOTE

Okay, so I know that technically this is kind of against the rules, but seeing as how this is going to be gone soon anyway, I don't think it really matters all that much. Obviously this story was pretty dead on arrival, considering how little was posted after the first couple days, and that was somewhat on purpose. I'm looking to take this rather seriously, as a way to flesh out my writing skills and try things out in order to help my skills as an author in my original works. However, it was quickly pointed out to me that while the writing itself was (relatively) sound, within four chapters, none of which were very long, I already had several continuity and plot issues that I was not addressing in any way, largely because I didn't notice them. This made me realize that I need to really sit down and plan this story and at the very least have an understanding of my major plot points, rather than write it on the fly. So, I've started doing exactly that, and within the next few weeks I will be deleting this story and posting a new one, with some material already archived to allow for some wiggle room in my writing schedule, while still updating consistently. If you're interested in reading that story when it arrives, just follow my profile rather than just this story, or just keep an eye out.


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